Education Committee

Claire Young Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Helen Hayes]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her contribution to this report as a member of the Select Committee. The situation that we saw in Aylsham high was one where children’s needs were met across the whole school through a whole-school approach to inclusion. The headteacher of that school told us powerfully, “We are not a net generator of new EHCPs.” We are talking about what we have seen being delivered and what we therefore know is possible. A system that delivers whole-school approaches to inclusion can restore the EHCP to what it was originally intended to do under the Children and Families Act 2014—specifically to deliver support for the children with the highest levels of need. An inclusive approach to education can work for everyone.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

One of the key findings of the report is that there needs to be a clear definition of what an inclusive education means. Does the Chair of the Select Committee agree that inflexible, draconian disciplinary systems at secondary level applied without consideration for reasonable adjustments are one of the things that contribute to a hostile environment for children with SEND? Will the Select Committee consider that and how we might improve education for all children?

[Helen Hayes]

This is why we are concerned that there should be a definition of inclusive education applying across a number of dimensions of the system, so that we can think about buildings and the extent to which they are inclusive, welcoming environments, about the curriculum and the flexibilities that it affords to deliver for children, about the expertise within the system, and about other aspects of education as well. The hon. Lady is right to say that the policy approaches taken by schools have a bearing on whether those schools are accessible to the widest possible range of pupils; that is why it is important for the Government to set out the definition, so that everyone is clear about the basis on which we are working.